1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to collision attenuators and, more particularly, to improved collision attenuators for the front ends of railroad trains or other moving vehicles and to methods for their use.
2. Description of Related Art
Railroad trains are heavy vehicles that are difficult to stop in emergency situations. Furthermore, railroad trains cannot be steered to avoid pedestrians and other motor vehicles that inadvertently cross the path of a moving railroad train. Railroad trains are extremely heavy relative to pedestrians as well as most motor vehicles including automobiles, sport-utility vehicles, trucks, vans, and buses. The front of a locomotive or a railroad car is typically constructed of a large rigid steel structure that yields minimally, if at all, in the event of a collision with a pedestrian or a motor vehicle. Unfortunately, due to these factors, collisions between railroad trains and pedestrians or between railroad trains and motor vehicles result all too often in fatalities for the pedestrians or for the occupants of the impacted motor vehicles.
Current efforts to reduce these fatalities have focused on collision prevention. Collision prevention techniques include warning devices on the railroad train such as horns and lights, warnings and barriers at railway and pedestrian crossings and at railway and motor vehicle crossings. Also, fencing is used along railroad right of ways to restrict access by pedestrians and/or motor vehicles. Unfortunately, pedestrians and motor vehicle operators on occasion accidentally miss, ignore, or deliberately circumvent these warning systems.
One known system for reducing the severity of impact between a train and a land vehicle is disclosed U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,205 to Butler. The Butler patent discloses a train collision system in the form of a flatbed car coupled to the front of a train. Disadvantageously, such systems are large and relatively expensive in that an additional rail car is required. Such systems are difficult to store and would occupy space that could be used by other working rail cars and locomotives. Such systems may also be very expensive to maintain, replace or recondition, possibly approaching or exceeding the cost of a rail car. Furthermore, such systems cannot be deactivated in order to prevent damage thereto in the event of slow speed and/or otherwise minor impacts.
What is needed is an improved collision attenuating system that overcomes the above and other disadvantages of known collision attenuating devices and collision prevention techniques.
Additionally, when a relatively large moving vehicle, such as a sport-utility vehicle, truck, or bus, impacts a smaller vehicle the difference in mass of the two vehicles results in an inordinate amount of damage and injury to the occupants of the smaller impacted vehicle.
What is also needed is an improved collision attenuating system which can be utilized on larger moving vehicles while overcoming the above and other disadvantages of known collision attenuating devices and collision prevention techniques.